2019 Racing Rumors

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iceman2058 2/1/2019 8:27am
2/1/2019 8:27am
Athertons reveal full rider list, team sponsors, and show a full shot of the new bike. Right HERE.
1
danposs86
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danposs86 2/1/2019 8:34am
2/1/2019 8:34am
iceman2058 wrote:
Athertons reveal full rider list, team sponsors, and show a full shot of the new bike. Right HERE.
If you had been quicker, I would have linked to Vital Tongue
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SharpieMTB
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SharpieMTB 2/1/2019 9:27am
2/1/2019 9:27am
For 2020. We need the following threads

WC Rumors
EWS Rumors
Freeride Rumors
6
iceman2058 2/1/2019 10:39am
2/1/2019 10:39am
danposs86 wrote:
If you had been quicker, I would have linked to Vital Tongue
Looks like you did? Whistling Wink
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LLLLL
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LLLLL 2/1/2019 11:29am
2/1/2019 11:29am
iceman2058 wrote:
Athertons reveal full rider list, team sponsors, and show a full shot of the new bike. Right HERE.
looks like a tight ship two juniors too, they bankrolling 2019 themselves?
tockfagnani 2/1/2019 12:19pm
2/1/2019 12:19pm
Nobody have news about ews team rumors... ???
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metadave
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metadave 2/1/2019 1:00pm
2/1/2019 1:00pm
tockfagnani wrote:
Nobody have news about ews team rumors... ???
Those juicy EWS rumors like "________ is going to be a dad mid season!"
10
bulletbass man 2/2/2019 12:26am
2/2/2019 12:26am
iceman2058 wrote:
Athertons reveal full rider list, team sponsors, and show a full shot of the new bike. Right HERE.
LLLLL wrote:
looks like a tight ship two juniors too, they bankrolling 2019 themselves?
I think it's likely they all took a substantial paycut in salary, I imagine the partnership is mostly based on them doing the riding and advertising and Robot building the bikes. However they still have large contracts with their parts suppliers as well as Redbull.
dmcd38
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dmcd38 2/2/2019 4:12am
2/2/2019 4:12am



New Specialized Demo Wink
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raozaki
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raozaki 2/2/2019 4:55am
2/2/2019 4:55am
dmcd38 wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmtb.com/photos/forums/2019/02/02/7585/s1200_proto2.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmtb.com/photos/forums/2019/02/02/7584/s1200_proto1.jpg[/img] New Specialized Demo ;)



New Specialized Demo Wink
source?
dmcd38
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dmcd38 2/2/2019 5:21am
2/2/2019 5:21am
NZ Open Christchurch 2019
Rider seams to be Caelab Drummond.
1
depeche4
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depeche4 2/2/2019 6:17am
2/2/2019 6:17am
dmcd38 wrote:
NZ Open Christchurch 2019
Rider seams to be Caelab Drummond.
Unless it is under the WC or Finn, I do not believe it. I doubt a guy sponsored by Specialized NZ would get his hands on the newest stuff first.
6
Marshall Willanholly 2/2/2019 6:24am
2/2/2019 6:24am Edited Date/Time 2/2/2019 6:44am
dmcd38 wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmtb.com/photos/forums/2019/02/02/7585/s1200_proto2.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmtb.com/photos/forums/2019/02/02/7584/s1200_proto1.jpg[/img] New Specialized Demo ;)



New Specialized Demo Wink
Looks like they haven’t given up on this one. I thought maybe it was DOA after Finn and Loic tested it and went back to the 27.5.

https://m.vitalmtb.com/photos/features/Prototype-Specialized-Demo-29-at…

https://m.vitalmtb.com/videos/features/Why-Loic-Bruni-Wont-Race-his-Pro…
dmcd38
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dmcd38 2/2/2019 6:41am
2/2/2019 6:41am
dmcd38 wrote:
NZ Open Christchurch 2019
Rider seams to be Caelab Drummond.
depeche4 wrote:
Unless it is under the WC or Finn, I do not believe it. I doubt a guy sponsored by Specialized NZ would get his hands on...
Unless it is under the WC or Finn, I do not believe it. I doubt a guy sponsored by Specialized NZ would get his hands on the newest stuff first.
just watch the video of the event and look at the starting list number...
Its not Finn and its not Bruni, its Caelab!

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depeche4
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depeche4 2/2/2019 6:44am
2/2/2019 6:44am
dmcd38 wrote:
NZ Open Christchurch 2019
Rider seams to be Caelab Drummond.
depeche4 wrote:
Unless it is under the WC or Finn, I do not believe it. I doubt a guy sponsored by Specialized NZ would get his hands on...
Unless it is under the WC or Finn, I do not believe it. I doubt a guy sponsored by Specialized NZ would get his hands on the newest stuff first.
dmcd38 wrote:
just watch the video of the event and look at the starting list number... Its not Finn and its not Bruni, its Caelab!
just watch the video of the event and look at the starting list number...
Its not Finn and its not Bruni, its Caelab!

I know who it is. What I am saying is unless Finn or Bruni are riding it, I highly doubt it is the latest and greatest from Specialized. Drummond rides for New Zealand's Specialized distributor not the factory team.
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LLLLL
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LLLLL 2/2/2019 6:44am
2/2/2019 6:44am
iceman2058 wrote:
Athertons reveal full rider list, team sponsors, and show a full shot of the new bike. Right HERE.
LLLLL wrote:
looks like a tight ship two juniors too, they bankrolling 2019 themselves?
bulletbass man wrote:
I think it's likely they all took a substantial paycut in salary, I imagine the partnership is mostly based on them doing the riding and advertising...
I think it's likely they all took a substantial paycut in salary, I imagine the partnership is mostly based on them doing the riding and advertising and Robot building the bikes. However they still have large contracts with their parts suppliers as well as Redbull.
There is definitely no money from RB towards the team Atherton
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raozaki
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raozaki 2/2/2019 7:18am
2/2/2019 7:18am
depeche4 wrote:
Unless it is under the WC or Finn, I do not believe it. I doubt a guy sponsored by Specialized NZ would get his hands on...
Unless it is under the WC or Finn, I do not believe it. I doubt a guy sponsored by Specialized NZ would get his hands on the newest stuff first.
dmcd38 wrote:
just watch the video of the event and look at the starting list number... Its not Finn and its not Bruni, its Caelab!
just watch the video of the event and look at the starting list number...
Its not Finn and its not Bruni, its Caelab!

depeche4 wrote:
I know who it is. What I am saying is unless Finn or Bruni are riding it, I highly doubt it is the latest and greatest...
I know who it is. What I am saying is unless Finn or Bruni are riding it, I highly doubt it is the latest and greatest from Specialized. Drummond rides for New Zealand's Specialized distributor not the factory team.
I remember something along the lines of Loic saying he was looking forward to developing a new downhill bike in the off season, so he at least was probably riding the bike in the time since worlds.
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Primoz
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Primoz 2/2/2019 11:22am
2/2/2019 11:22am
And it's not like the racers get first dibs on the prototypes. That's the engineers and test riders job. They are the ones riding the first mule and the refined protos go into the racers hands.

It might seem like they ride the bleeding edge stuff and the first protos, but stuff they ride still needs to work. They still have races to finish. Remember, to finish first, first you must finish (as opposed to the motor racing proverb of 'first you must be finnish').
5
Shawn_Trudell 2/2/2019 2:49pm
2/2/2019 2:49pm Edited Date/Time 2/2/2019 2:58pm
depeche4 wrote:
Unless it is under the WC or Finn, I do not believe it. I doubt a guy sponsored by Specialized NZ would get his hands on...
Unless it is under the WC or Finn, I do not believe it. I doubt a guy sponsored by Specialized NZ would get his hands on the newest stuff first.
dmcd38 wrote:
just watch the video of the event and look at the starting list number... Its not Finn and its not Bruni, its Caelab!
just watch the video of the event and look at the starting list number...
Its not Finn and its not Bruni, its Caelab!

depeche4 wrote:
I know who it is. What I am saying is unless Finn or Bruni are riding it, I highly doubt it is the latest and greatest...
I know who it is. What I am saying is unless Finn or Bruni are riding it, I highly doubt it is the latest and greatest from Specialized. Drummond rides for New Zealand's Specialized distributor not the factory team.
Why not.....maybe it's all part of the marketing chess game....Cole Picchitino (sorry about spelling) was testing a 29er Trek session a full two years before anyone else had one, and he's definitely NOT a factory supported rider. He's backed by Trek for sure but it's more of a regional/local deal.
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carll
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carll 2/2/2019 3:38pm
2/2/2019 3:38pm
depeche4 wrote:
I know who it is. What I am saying is unless Finn or Bruni are riding it, I highly doubt it is the latest and greatest...
I know who it is. What I am saying is unless Finn or Bruni are riding it, I highly doubt it is the latest and greatest from Specialized. Drummond rides for New Zealand's Specialized distributor not the factory team.
Rider is a suspension tech for Specialized, which would explain the bike.
Loki87
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Loki87 2/2/2019 3:58pm
2/2/2019 3:58pm
If you wanna keep things quiet it´s actually a rather logical move.
I mean, having an unknown but fast rider on the other side of the planet test your bike is as low key as it gets while ensuring to put the thing through real world conditions.
Him being a specialized sponsored rider, even though only localy, ensures he´s got experience on the previous bike and can comment on improvments and differences. It is probably not too far fetched to expect spec development to reach out to their distributors in order to get some fast guy on their newest frame.

Also all their new frames have been spotted first under specialized staff in whistler in recent years as far as i remember, so WC riders seem to definitely not be the first to receive them for real world testing.

What is interesting though is the fact that Loic stated a while ago, he will be developing a new frame as he did not like the new Prototype at all. So it´s interesting they seem to still keep developing that design.
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peecee
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peecee 2/2/2019 4:37pm
2/2/2019 4:37pm
Loki87 wrote:
If you wanna keep things quiet it´s actually a rather logical move. I mean, having an unknown but fast rider on the other side of the...
If you wanna keep things quiet it´s actually a rather logical move.
I mean, having an unknown but fast rider on the other side of the planet test your bike is as low key as it gets while ensuring to put the thing through real world conditions.
Him being a specialized sponsored rider, even though only localy, ensures he´s got experience on the previous bike and can comment on improvments and differences. It is probably not too far fetched to expect spec development to reach out to their distributors in order to get some fast guy on their newest frame.

Also all their new frames have been spotted first under specialized staff in whistler in recent years as far as i remember, so WC riders seem to definitely not be the first to receive them for real world testing.

What is interesting though is the fact that Loic stated a while ago, he will be developing a new frame as he did not like the new Prototype at all. So it´s interesting they seem to still keep developing that design.
Even thou Loic is an absolute legend, he has always been very outspoken about 29" inch wheels so even before jumping on the new prototype he threw a leg over it in a negative frame of mind.

It was a mule after all and specialized have the funds and the tech to turn around prototypes weekly, it seems like Loic has been maybe testing with a 29" front wheel on the demo but if computer modelling and testing is showing that the new design is actually better than the current demo why wouldn't they continue with the new bike.

Im sure no matter what Loic rides people will buy the bike and ultimately specialized want to sell bikes and a new design will do that even if Loic or Finn don't win a race all year.

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millsr4
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millsr4 2/2/2019 5:07pm
2/2/2019 5:07pm
depeche4 wrote:
I know who it is. What I am saying is unless Finn or Bruni are riding it, I highly doubt it is the latest and greatest...
I know who it is. What I am saying is unless Finn or Bruni are riding it, I highly doubt it is the latest and greatest from Specialized. Drummond rides for New Zealand's Specialized distributor not the factory team.
carll wrote:
Rider is a suspension tech for Specialized, which would explain the bike.
Also, there were plenty of these Specialized 29er prototypes floating around. I met an unsponsored guy down at Steven's Pass last summer on one who got it from a friend who was sponsored...
Loki87
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Loki87 2/2/2019 5:44pm
2/2/2019 5:44pm
Loki87 wrote:
If you wanna keep things quiet it´s actually a rather logical move. I mean, having an unknown but fast rider on the other side of the...
If you wanna keep things quiet it´s actually a rather logical move.
I mean, having an unknown but fast rider on the other side of the planet test your bike is as low key as it gets while ensuring to put the thing through real world conditions.
Him being a specialized sponsored rider, even though only localy, ensures he´s got experience on the previous bike and can comment on improvments and differences. It is probably not too far fetched to expect spec development to reach out to their distributors in order to get some fast guy on their newest frame.

Also all their new frames have been spotted first under specialized staff in whistler in recent years as far as i remember, so WC riders seem to definitely not be the first to receive them for real world testing.

What is interesting though is the fact that Loic stated a while ago, he will be developing a new frame as he did not like the new Prototype at all. So it´s interesting they seem to still keep developing that design.
peecee wrote:
Even thou Loic is an absolute legend, he has always been very outspoken about 29" inch wheels so even before jumping on the new prototype he...
Even thou Loic is an absolute legend, he has always been very outspoken about 29" inch wheels so even before jumping on the new prototype he threw a leg over it in a negative frame of mind.

It was a mule after all and specialized have the funds and the tech to turn around prototypes weekly, it seems like Loic has been maybe testing with a 29" front wheel on the demo but if computer modelling and testing is showing that the new design is actually better than the current demo why wouldn't they continue with the new bike.

Im sure no matter what Loic rides people will buy the bike and ultimately specialized want to sell bikes and a new design will do that even if Loic or Finn don't win a race all year.

Generally i´d agree, but in that particular interview Loic mentioned the new frame being a 29er and him "not hating them anymore" in a very diplomatic way. It did not sound like "it´s a 29er so it was shit" but rather like this particular bike just wasn´t right in some other way than wheelsize.
It sounded pretty confident there´d be another design.
Who knows though, maybe it was just about the geometry. We´ll see in the upcoming season i guess.
Shawn_Trudell 2/4/2019 6:12pm
2/4/2019 6:12pm
Blenki on an assguy, in fact maxxis front and rear. Lots of pictures of the Norco guys on Maxxis but still posting Schwalbe as the tire sponsor. Anybody have any thoughts?
3
tavaenga
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tavaenga 2/4/2019 11:50pm
2/4/2019 11:50pm
Shawn_Trudell wrote:
Blenki on an assguy, in fact maxxis front and rear. Lots of pictures of the Norco guys on Maxxis but still posting Schwalbe as the tire...
Blenki on an assguy, in fact maxxis front and rear. Lots of pictures of the Norco guys on Maxxis but still posting Schwalbe as the tire sponsor. Anybody have any thoughts?
From last months press release: “Sam Blenkinsop, Henry Fitzgerald and new Norco Factory DH Team member Elliot Jamieson will race aboard the Aurum HSP decked out with DT Swiss wheels and Maxxis rubber. ”
iceman2058 2/5/2019 5:44am
2/5/2019 5:44am
Big announcement from the YT MOB today, Angel spearheading the team and a big focus on helping the next generation of young talent. Hints of more elite-level racers still to be signed/announced as well...:

YT MOB To Focus on the Future of the Sport.
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stoic_machine 2/5/2019 8:30am
2/5/2019 8:30am
I know theres been some talk about whats going on with the Giant Factory DH team... Oddly only 1 of 3 riders from last year seems to have Giant as a sponsor of theirs...

Maybe they are still working on Contract details? Or maybe Giant is desolving the DH team?




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